Buck O'Neil to be inducted into Hall of Famous Missourians

JEFFERSON CITY — The late Buck O'Neil, who went from baseball's Negro Leagues to become the first black coach in Major League Baseball, is being honored at the Missouri Capitol.

O'Neil will be inducted Monday afternoon into the Hall of Famous Missourians, the display of bronze busts in the Capitol's third-floor rotunda. He died in 2006 at the age of 94.

O'Neil won two batting titles during his 11 seasons with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues. He was later hired as a scout by the Chicago Cubs, who made him Major League Baseball's first black coach in 1962.

He returned to Kansas City in the late 1980s as a scout for the Royals. He also raised money to build the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.